Category: microbiology

The government-funded Centers for Disease Control employs detectives that investigate foodborne illnesses, infectious disease outbreaks, and influenza viral patterns. They work hard to keep us healthy and productive. You know what happens when the government shuts down? They stop detecting. Development of next year’s flu vaccine gets delayed. Flu outbreaks aren’t tracked. Right now, there’s a Salmonella outbreak that isn’t being investigated as thoroughly as it would be if the CDC were open for business. (If you’re interested in the CDC’s role in outbreak investigation, that link is here.)

Nanosphere’s motto is “advancing diagnostics through the power of nanotechnology.” While I’ve read enough science fiction to quibble with the “nanotechnology” designation, Nanosphere does seem to have a handle on rapid molecular testing. The Verigene System can analyze samples for respiratory viruses (Influenza A, Influenza B, RSV, and 2009 H1N1, to name a few), C. difficle, and gram-negative or gram-positive organisms in positive blood culture bottles.

While other rapid molecular analyzers exist for C. difficle and respiratory viruses, I’m intrigued by the blood culture analysis. Literature from the company claims that analyzing one sample using one cartridge can give you identification and resistance information for organisms commonly implicated in septicemia. With the rising prevalence of multidrug resistant bacteria such as MRSA, CRE, and Acinetobacter baumanii, getting these results almost two days faster than current methodologies would have a positive impact on patient care.

A recent study suggests that this system does what it claims to do–rapidly identify organisms and resistance patterns in positive blood cultures.

While I was out of the office last week, Maryn McKenna wrote up a few informative blog posts about the CDC’s threat report.

The first summarizes the lengthy report (114 pages) by highlighting the top three “urgent” threats–CRE, N. gonorrhoeae, and C. difficle. She also mentions that CDC’s director Dr. Tom Frieden states “If we are not careful, we will soon be in a post-antibiotic era. And for some patients and for some microbes, we are already there.”

Another post discusses the connection between agricultural antibiotic use and bacterial resistance in humans.

As an aside, if you’re as much of an emerging disease junkie as I am, check out McKenna’s blog on a regular basis. She’s also written a book on MRSA that should be required reading for all clinical microbiologists. It’s one part history, one part science lesson, and one part cautionary tale about this bacterium.